PATOOL(1)                                                            PATOOL(1)



NAME
       patool - simple manager for file archives of various types

SYNOPSIS
        patool (extract|list|test) [options] <archive-file>...
        patool create [options] <archive-file> [files...]
        patool formats [options]

DESCRIPTION
       Various  archive  types can be created, extracted, tested and listed by
       patool. The advantage of patool is its simplicity in  handling  archive
       files without having to remember a myriad of programs and options.

       The  archive format is determined by the file(1) program and as a fall‐
       back by the archive file extension.

       patool supports 7z (.7z), ZIP (.zip, .jar), GZIP (.gz), compress  (.Z),
       BZIP2  (.bz2),  TAR  (.tar),  ARJ (.arj), CAB (.cab), CPIO (.cpio), RPM
       (.rpm), DEB (.deb), LZIP (.lz), LZOP (.lzo), LZMA (.lzma),  RAR  (.rar)
       and XZ (.xz) formats.  It relies on helper applications to handle those
       archive formats (for example bzip2 for BZIP2 archives).

EXAMPLES
         patool extract archive.zip otherarchive.rar
         patool test --verbose dist.tar.gz
         patool list package.deb
         patool create --verbose myfiles.zip file1.txt dir/

COMMANDS
       Several commands and options are available.

   extract
       Extract files from an archive. This is the default command if  no  com‐
       mand was given.
       Often  one  wants to extract all files in an archive to a single subdi‐
       rectory.  However, some archives contain multiple files in  their  root
       directories.  The  patool  program  overcomes  this  problem  by  first
       extracting files to a unique (temporary) directory, and then moving its
       contents  back  if  possible. This also prevents local files from being
       overwritten by mistake.

       -v, --verbose
              Be verbose when extracting (if the helper  application  supports
              it).

       --help Show help for this command.

   list
       List files in an archive.

       -v, --verbose
              Verbose archive listing (if the helper application supports it).

       --help Show help for this command.

   create
       Create  an  archive from given files. At least on of the given files to
       add to the archive has to exist.

       -v, --verbose
              Verbose operation (if the helper application supports it).

       --help Show help for this command.

   test
       Test files in an archive.

       -v, --verbose
              Verbose archive testing (if the helper application supports it).

       --help Show help for this command.

   formats
       Show all supported archive formats.

       --help Show help for this command.

AUTHOR
       Bastian Kleineidam <calvin@users.sourceforge.net>

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright © 2010 Bastian Kleineidam



patool                           February 2010                       PATOOL(1)